Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa August 2013 | Page 62

AREA REVIEW

BY ANGELIQUE REDMOND

Welcome To Arabella
You may not want to leave

L

ocated just 110 km from Cape Town lies
the Arabella Country Estate, a tranquil
and breathtaking lifestyle estate. Driving
into the Estate, the friendly and smiling staff
greeted me and directed me to the Arabella
hotel, where I was to be taken on a guided tour of
the Estate. My tour guide was one of the estates
residents, Steve, who after visiting the hotel for
a conference when he was working for Cadbury
fell in love with the peaceful and opulent estate.
A short while later, Steve had his hands full,
renting a house on the estate while supervising
the building of his own on one of the vacant
plots. Today Steve was showing me what life on
the estate was like.
The very first thing that struck me while
whizzing around on the golf cart (a much
more economical and faster way to get around
the estate) was the sounds of nature. Without
a background of traffic or sounds of the city
hustle and bustle, the birds were creating a song
that spoke to the heritage of Arabella. The area
is home to more than 1600 fynbos species and
abundant bird and animal life and is set on 113
hectares of land with a 1.6km frontage of lagoon.
When looking out over the land, you could
almost forget that you are in fact looking at a
housing estate. The homes are nestled into the
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August 2013 SA Real Estate Investor

natural surroundings and the delicate balance
of man-made property and nature has ensured
that the estate is in harmony with the plants
and trees. Steve explained that although some
houses are ready built in a very organic style of
architecture, you can choose to build your own,
but the Homeowners Association responsible
for the overall look and concept of Arabella
must approve the plans to ensure that the natural
look and feel of the estate is not compromised.
Sur prisingly this plays out rather wel l
aesthetically, as individual characteristics of the
houses emerge, but the overall style of the houses
with natural materials, slate roofs and subdued
earth colours retains the integrity of the estate as
a whole. Inside the houses, the eye is teased with
stunning views of the estate, the golf course and
the lagoon, there are no bad views at Arabella.
Natural lighting floods the houses, large glass
windows, skylights and walls of glass create a
look that is modern, light and airy. Each home
has its own individual style, some very modern
with large open plan space and different levels,
and some more traditional in look and feel. One
thing most have in common is that you or your
guests need never share a bathroom again, with
each room having its own en-suite bathroom. As
a girl I highly approve of this, you can never have
too many bathrooms.

Another worrying factor you will not find here
is crime, 24/7 security and a fully fenced and
a guarded environment ensure your peace of
mind. As with every estate there are rules and
you must abide by the homeowner’s association
rules, but they are far from draconian and
instead simply enforce that the estate retains its
integrity and you don’t end up with a pink house
next to your home. If you are a golfer, welcome
to heaven, outside your door lies the fourth best
golf course in South Africa, and an interesting
thing to note is that the golf course came first
followed by the estate and hotel. This goes a
long way towards explaining how the homes
and the golf course work so well together, with
homes nestled into the natural beauty and the
golf course stretching the length of the estate.
Should you not be a rabid golfer, (and I certainly
am not) you can still enjoy the views, benches
are tucked away on each tee, so you can sit
and simply enjoy nature. At certain times of
the year you can use the benches to spot the
celebrity, with esteemed players such as Ernie
Els, Gary Player and celebrities like Jodi Foster
and Samuel L. Jackson having graced the golf
course.
It’s easy to try and pigeonhole the estate as a
retirement resort, but that is not the case, an
www.reimag.co.za